Most robots are designed to be tasked-oriented. But Kengoro and Kenshiro were created with the hope of better understanding how human functions, such as muscle control, operate. “Our intent is to design a humanoid based on human systems—including the musculoskeletal structure, sensory nervous system, and methods of information processing in the brain—to support science-oriented goals, such as gaining a deeper understanding of the internal mechanisms of humans,” the research team who created the two robots, wrote in their paper, published Wednesday in the journal Science Robotics. A video shows that Kengoro, the newer of the two bots, can do sit ups, chin ups, back extensions, calf raises, and hit a badminton birdie, among other actions. read moreDisclaimer: Chances are that this post was requested by an advertiser.